Heart and Soul
by Nanashi Wanderer
Summary: AU-ish: Men's pasts have always haunted them. More so for an immortal, one whose suffered the loss of many friends and loves throughout his time alive. Mikogami Tenmei, Youkai Academy's chairman is one such man. Follow his journey from his youth, to becoming one of the three Dark Lords who watch over the Youkai realms.


**Disclaimer: I do not own R+V. **

**Prologue**

Ruby was woken up to a panicked cry. The immediate thought that presented itself was that there was some sort of problem outside. However, she clued in to the fact that she had been working on some paperwork for the chairman late into the night. That meant that there should be no one around to make that cry. Giving the immediate area a quick look with her bleary eyes, the witch decided that there was nothing she needed to worry about. Taking a look at what she had been working on she decided that it would be best to start cleaning it up and head to her room for the night, finishing the work in the morning.

Just as she was about to start her cleanup procedure an odd sight entered the room. A man with brilliant white hair walked into the office as if he owned it and settled down at the desk. It was at that moment that she realised exactly who had shown up.

"Chairman-san, pardon me" she began as she quickly grabbed the papers and prepared to leave the office.

"Hmm" was the response that the chairman gave her as he pulled out a piece of paper and began writing on it.

Ruby had seen him like this only once before, but even then it was accidental. However that time she was easily able to back away without being noticed. This time she doubted she'd be that lucky.

"Miss Tojo what are you still doing here?" the chairman asked after a few moments of awkward silence.

"Umm, well, you see, I have to be going, excuse me" Ruby bowed and attempted to leave the room, but was stopped by the chairman.

"No, no problem, if you could please just run this to the birds I'd greatly appreciate it" the chairman said as he held out the parchment he had written on. "I need this delivered immediately."

The witch let out a sigh of defeat; she knew there was no way she would be getting any decent sleep tonight. Resigned to that fact she obliged the chairman's request and grabbed the parchment.

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The location that the chairman kept the birds was one of Ruby's least favourite places to visit. Usually she loved animals of all sorts, but here she was treated like an outsider. None of the birds ever warmed up to her and she had to shower immediately after her previous visit.

Upon finding a bird that didn't try to kill her Ruby successfully managed to attach the parchment to its leg and set it off to find the recipient. That was something she was truly amazed with was that all these birds seemed to instinctively know where they were supposed to go. Even more than other birds that had been used by humans in the past, these ones were truly in tune with the chairman.

Satisfied that she had completed her job properly the witch left the location (after fending off another wave of birds...really why did they hate her so much) and proceeded to collect her stuff before attempting to get at least an hour's worth of sleep before she had to once again work.

Entering back into the chairman's office she saw that all her things had been neatly stacked and were waiting for her.

'Did the chairman do this?' Ruby pondered as she walked over to the pile.

Looking it over she was surprised by the messily written note that was on the top of the stack.

_Miss Tojo, _

_Thank you for your assistance. Please take the time to properly rest and try to be here around two in the afternoon. I hope that provides you with enough time. _

_Sincerely, _

_Mikogami Tenmei_

Ruby couldn't help herself as she began giggling at the way that the note was signed. The chairman must've really been tired as he wrote it out as if it was a letter signing at the end. Even more amusing was the fact that he used the same stamp he would for his letters on the note as well. Gathering all the books and papers into her arms Ruby left the office and proceeded to her room to get a good rest.

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Moka was pleased with the start of her day. The first class that she would be taking for the day would have all her friends in the same room. That and the fact that it was history made it really easy for her to be cheerful. When the class began however, that all changed.

"Good morning students, as some of you may know I am the chairman of the school. Today however I am going to be taking over for your usual history teacher as we begin a school wide topic."

The entire class let out a groan. They were already beginning preparation for the unit final the next week and now they were going to be going on to a new topic without any warning. Yukari was the only one who seemed happy about this as she nearly bounced out of her seat upon hearing the news.

"I've been hearing from the teachers that many students are taking this class the wrong way as they begin to assume that we are superior to humans due to our lack of war mongering. Well I'm here to correct that assumption with one fell swoop."

The chairman's words silenced the entirety of the class. Many of those who had spoken out that way during class began to cower in their seats as the chairman continued.

"Now we will begin with a conflict that many of you may be familiar with. It's quite close to home; actually it happened on much of the same soil you walk on when with your families. This conflict was known as the Sengoku Era. What we shall be discussing here is the influence that youkai races had on the conflict itself."

The chairman began his lecture. Much to the class' surprise it was a very brutal lecture that they only managed to get a tenth of the way through by the time the class had ended. In the aftermath only Tsukune and Yukari seemed to have been enthralled with it.

"I didn't realise that youkai had such a large presence in the early moments of the era" Tsukune stated as he and Yukari walked side by side, completely caught up in their conversation.

"Could you two please not talk about that class?" Moka and Kurumu asked at the exact same moment.

"Hmm, did something bother you?" Tsukune's concern was genuine as he looked at the two young women.

"I just can't stomach all the brutality" Kurumu answered. "I knew that succubi had played a role in many wars, especially in the ending of World War II, but I didn't realise that youkai were steeped in as much human bloodshed as humans are."

Tsukune turned his attention to Moka after hearing Kurumu's answer. Nervously (a trait the vampire rarely showed) Moka answered.

"I'm not really sure, I just feel like I'm going to find out something I never wanted to know if this class continues."

Tsukune nodded in understanding. The brutality that someone's ancestors could have was not something exclusive to humans or youkai.

"Well I'm sure this will pass over soon" Yukari interjected before latching her arm around Tsukune's. "Yet for now I am going to steal Tsukune for our Study Hall hour."

Kurumu's eyes darkened as she watched the little witch and in response Yukari just stuck her tongue out. The little witch then ran away, Tsukune following as her giggles filled the air.

"Why did I decide to take Home Economics?" Kurumu asked the sky as she followed Moka and Mizore who had already headed towards that class.

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Ruby woke up groggily. It had been about four in the morning when she finally made it to her room and she had collapsed immediately onto her futon. Despite the eight...scratch that...nine hours of sleep she had acquired it was still annoying to have to wake up.

Pulling herself off of the futon the witch took a quick shower before changing into a fresh set of clothing. 'The shower is definitely something I wish my mistress thought of acquiring' she thought as she finished dressing. Satisfied with her appearance she grabbed the stack of books and papers she had from the night before and proceeded to get something to eat as she finished up her previous day's work.

Settling down at a seat in the cafeteria used primarily during dinner and breakfast (for the students) and all day for the staff/faculty she started to go through the papers. Once she had finished with the papers she quickly placed them to the side, ate for a bit and then proceeded to go over the books she had.

'I don't remember grabbing this one' Ruby thought as she placed a hand on the book topping the pile. 'Actually I don't even remember seeing this one before.'

A sense of panic washed through her as she realised that she must have something dreadfully important to the chairman.

'I better get this back to his office right away' she mentally told herself before standing up with all her work and rushed out of the cafeteria.

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"Soon we'll be able to start pushing forward" Mikogami stated to the air as he settled into the chair at the front of the classroom.

It was between classes and he knew that he would have to give the same brutal lecture he had been giving the other classes that day.

"It never gets easier to discuss any part of your past does it?" he asked no one in particular as his eyes dimmed, taking on a more natural brownish red.

**End Prologue**

**A/N: Okay, this is a rerelease of a story that I had on the site before (and then subsequently deleted). It is focused on Mikogami Tenmei's past, and will be placing him in the role of a historical Japanese figure. One who is a mystery himself and will provide ample room for character development. This story overall will span from the closing years of the Sengoku Era, up to the defeat of Alucard (so somewhere around 1666). Hopefully it will prove to be enjoyable and provide an interesting read that can spark some more use out of the chairman as a character within these stories. **

**I want to make him sympathetic, but also showcase why he hardened and became the bizarre manipulator that he is in canon. I will be introducing a pairing to the story that I haven't ever seen before on and hope that it will prove to be enjoyable. Some plans may change for the story as I work away on the first full chapter, but I can confirm that the base idea will remain. **

**Also, Tsukune's relationships are not a focus of this story. For that reason, outside of flirting in the modern day portions of chapters, there will be no element of that here. **

**Nanashi Wanderer**

**P.S. This is my return to the R+V fandom. I plan on continuing Error Operator and on starting a few Tsukune x Mizore fics. So, I'm back and ready for another long haul with this fandom. **


End file.
